Hours: Public drop-in, open rec and figure skating sessions weekday evenings from 6:45 to 9:30 p.m.; and similar sessions throughout the weekends from 8 a.m. to 9 p.m. Check the website for exact times.

Cindi Indermill, general manager of the Ice Rink at One Boulder Plaza, is gathering repair estimates to determine whether mechanical problems will permanently close the popular outdoor skating spot.

The owners of the Ice Rink at One Boulder Plaza announced last week that the outdoor rink will not open in downtown Boulder this fall for its 11th season.

The rink's owners said warm weather and mechanical difficulties forced them to push back the planned opening date this season until Nov. 24 for Downtown Boulder Inc.'s holiday season kick-off.

But the mechanical problems proved to be more substantial than first thought and couldn't be resolved in time for the rink to open for its short season, which typically runs from mid-November to mid-February.

Indermill said the problem is with the system that keeps the ice cold. An initial estimate for the repair was $100,000, with a needed part not expected to be delivered until January.

"It was beyond our control," she said. "It was labeled a catastrophic failure."

She said she's working to find the part and get the rink repaired for less. Depending on the final cost, she said, it will be up to the owners to decide whether they want to repair the rink for the 2014-15 season.

"It's sponsored and subsidized by the owners of One Boulder Plaza," she said. "It's not a money maker. It's a way to give back to the community."

Last week, Newton Running CEO Jerry Lee, one of the rink's owners, said he hopes the ice rink will reopen in November 2014, "but we cannot predict with any certainty. There are too many unknowns surrounding the mechanical issues."

Downtown Boulder Inc. usually incorporates the ice rink in its annual holiday season kick-off, which is Sunday.

"While we are disappointed that there won't be a 2013-2014 season, we are hopeful that they will be back next year," said Terri Takata-Smith, Downtown Boulder's spokeswoman.

The Longmont Ice Pavilion also is having opening problems.

Last week, a day before the outdoor rink was due to open, operators found $20,000 in damage caused when someone put "ice melt" on the ice surface.

It's the second time in 12 months that the Longmont Ice Pavilion has been vandalized. In November 2012, someone broke through a fence and kicked off a pressure gauge on the rink's machinery. That damage caused the rink to lose about seven barrels of the material that keeps the ice frozen.

A new opening date has yet to be set, but Longmont rink officials have said the goal is to open by the end of the week.

Also opening Friday is the downtown Louisville WinterSkate outdoor ice rink run by Boulder Creek Events. Boulder Creek Events' other rink, WinterSkate at Boulder's Twenty Ninth Street mall, is set to open early next week.